Two Words
by Antoinette Shakespeare
Summary: Two Words. That was all he was left with to solve the single most question on the back of his mind. Where had she gone?


**Two Words**

"_Goodbye, Gin-Kun."_

_His head spun in his quick attempt to meet her gaze. Gin would have sworn he hadn't heard her correctly as his silver locks twirled around his face. Astonishingly blue eyes met a dull green as their eyes locked. What had she just said? This girl with no name and no past. Gin didn't want to know if he'd heard her correctly._

"_What d'ya mean 'Goodbye'? It's just the bell that means class has started," he pointed out in the faint hopes he'd misjudged her words, though he knew he hadn't. Olivia was too smart to think that the bell meant something else, and too much like him to use those words for something so trivial as class starting. He watched as she bowed her head, smooth aqua locks spilling from the top of her head and obscuring her face; she never dropped his gaze._

"_You know that's not what I mean, Gin-Kun." She forced out a laugh and raised her head swiftly, running her fingers through her hair and grinning; the grin was as fake as her laugh. She took a step toward him, and he contemplated taking one back just avoid the inevitable._

_It was her first day at the Academy; the first step in their conjoined future as Gin had joined the academy a year before her. He had come to see her to class, prepare her for the new world she entered. Now… Gin swallowed and shook his head back and forth slowly, hoping to rid himself of this scene. She was leaving. It was all happening too suddenly. Just the day before he, Rangiku and Olivia had been mesmerized with the idea of becoming Shinigami. _

"_I'm leaving. For good." Her voice came out as a whisper. She'd wished it to be stronger and she took another step toward him. _

"_What are ya talkin' 'bout, 'for good'? I don' understand, 'livia-Chan." Gin felt her hand curl around his, pulling it from his side to link them. She was smiling, for real this time. She –like him –always seemed to be. Her smiles were just more identifiable. "Where are ya goin'?" He blinked several times, while she averted her gaze to the ceiling in deep thought._

"_I can't tell you, Gin-Kun. But it's for the better, trust me." She squeezed his hand reassuringly, hoping he got the message. He had to let her go, she had to go. There were no options either way. She had never belonged in this world, she saw that now. Olivia could feel the tears beginning to well in her eyes and she blinked them back. She could hide them for just a bit longer. _

_Gin looked her up and down, fearing that this would be the last chance he got to see her. He had to preserve her memory for his own sanity. _

_Olivia stood before him in a slouch that she claimed to come from crawling through the shops of Rukongai to steal food. Her small framed –if not lanky –body was garbed in the same Shinigami uniform that he once wore and her zanpakuto –too long for her still –hung at her side, the end resting against the floor. Wavy aqua tresses spilled into her face and cascaded down her shoulders, finally coming to a halt in split ends at her hips. Green eyes set on either side of a freckled nose stared at him with wisdom only gained by those forced to survive in the ravenous jungle of the Soul Society. _

_He blinked, capturing the image. "I see," he finally murmured, barely over a whisper. For the first time in forever he dropped his grin, his act. He stepped toward her and held her gaze tight, squeezing her hand back. There was no stopping her. Olivia would do as she pleased, she always had. "Good luck, 'livia-Chan." Gin saw no point in trying to pretend he was happy for her, or excited in her new ventures; she would see right past them anyway._

"_Thanks. Thanks for everything, Gin-Kun." Leaning forward she pressed her lips to his cheek and dropped his hand, instantly turning her back to him and walking away. A tear slid down her cheek when she didn't hear his footsteps running after her. Raising a hand, she wiped away the single droplet and glanced over her shoulder, smiling so hugely her eyes were reduced to slits. "Say goodbye to Ran-Chan, too, ne?" _

_He nodded, biting down on his bottom lip. He could feel the knot forming in his throat and in the pit of his stomach. "Sure, 'livia-Chan." _

_Gin watched as she took another step at disappeared._

**X.X.X.**

Astonishingly blue eyes shot open, gaze colliding with the white ceiling overhead. Gin let a disapproving grunt escape his lips as he folded his arms behind his head. He folded one leg over the other and exhaled slowly, mind swimming with the nightmare he'd just awoken from.

That particular memory had been bringing itself up lately, quite a lot. Gin didn't think it was a bad memory in the least, but there were others he was fonder of. Happier memories, ones that were accompanied by less heart ache. Though, he supposed that any memory from such innocent, naïve times would bring pain in some form.

Licking his dry lips, he began to ponder the idea as to why, now of all times, these thoughts were springing up. He had much more critical, present-related matters to think about. Perhaps, he supposed, it was because his death may be in the near future. Maybe because he was sure to see Rangiku soon; which made least sense to him out of all his hypotheses because out of the two women he was best acquainted with she appeared least. He'd considered the possibility of it being the other way around, seeing Olivia instead of Rangiku, but the chances of that were far less likely.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the rectangle he called a bed, Gin decided it was best to prepare for today, which –according to Captain Aizen –everything they had lived for in the past century led up to. The silver haired man only half listened whenever Aizen begun on a tangent about such things, just nodding and smiling along with the brunette. It was what he did _best_ after all.

Walking across the room, he entered the adjoining bathroom. Reaching inside the secluded shower, he turned the nozzle on just slightly and stepped away before the freezing water touched his skin. After undressing, Gin stepped into the shower and allowed the ice water to wash across his pale body.

Inevitably, his mind slipped back to the dreams that plagued his every unconscious thought. Just what _would_ he do if he saw Olivia again? He wasn't sure. There was so much he would want to do in a single moment he feared he may just burst should he ever. All the emotions and thoughts and actions that desired to be fulfilled would be too much for him to handle. After all, who would possible cry, slap someone, scold the same person, hug them, hate them, and question them for their despicable actions all at the same time? Certainly not he.

It took him until the end of his shower to decide that if he ever met Olivia again in this life he would do what he always did: smile, and wait for her to make the first move.

Moments later he was roaming through the halls of the central building in Las Noches where he, Kaname and Aizen lived. His free time here was limited and he thought it best to enjoy it while he could. It was easier to keep things a secret from Aizen that way; though for his own protection he tried to keep as little as he could.

From the outside he could hear the screams and cries and indiscernible commotion caused by the remaining Espada and the Shinigami who had broken in to Hueco Mundo, both recently and a few days ago. He wondered if Olivia would be out there with them, fighting against the evil that was his place in this world; possibly trying her hardest to bring him back to the light. Or perhaps she would have followed him here and to the ends of the world as they had jokingly promised each other as ignorant children. In fact, he wondered the simplest of all his queries and the most perplexing of them all:

Where was it she had gone, if she had not intended to go to the academy to become a Shinigami? Obviously she was not in Hueco Mundo, as Gin would have noticed by now if she were and there was no way she was in the Real World. Soul Society didn't just let academy students in their files disappear into the Real World, not without sending some sort of search party.

A sigh escaped his lips as he rounded the corner that would eventually lead to his observation room. After all, he needed _something_ to do while he waited for the upcoming battle aside from dwelling on the unfortunate past.

**X.X.X.**

"Hirako-Kun? Hirako-Kun!" Olivia leapt from shattered building to shattered building: the battle field that had devoured her friends. His reiatsu was feint, but she could feel it. Just barely. "Damn it, Shinji! Where are you?" Her feet came to a rest at the peak of the highest pile of rubble while her eyes scanned the ruins beneath her.

The pit of her stomach tossed and turned with every new body she discovered, maimed and wounded beyond mortal comprehension. The sight was almost too much for her to take in, but she had something she needed to do.

Finally, she saw him move: Hirako Shinji. A faint surge of hope shot through her as she dropped to the ground at his side. While the blond struggled to sit up, she slid her arms around his waist and pulled him into her. His blood flowed from him and stained her clothing.

"Shinji… I –"

"You…" Blood flew from his open mouth. "You what?" With a strained smile, he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm late and I… I was preparing for and…. And now it doesn't matter," she shook her head slowly as tears pooled in her eyes. Shinji had ordered her to be delayed from the battle so she could finish the task he had assigned her before she went after Gin and even though it was an order the thought of her friends being massacred like this overwhelmed her.

"Shut yer… yap, Olivia. We ain't gonna –" Shinji paused and coughed roughly into the crook of his arm. "–die. You have… something better to… do, anyway. Don'cha?" Shoving away from her, he fell onto his knees and looked up at her, still smiling. Reaching up, he feebly brushed away the stray tears that fell from her eyes. "Go. They went to the Soul Society, to the real –" He coughed again, blood spilling from his mouth and tainting his lips. "–Karakura Town."

Olivia bit her bottom lip and shakily rose to her feet. "Thank you, Hirako-Kun. As soon as I find Gin, I promise I'll come back and help you all. I promise."

Shinji didn't answer her after that, just collapsed against the nearest piece of building. Swallowing hard, Olivia turned her back to the closest thing she had to a captain or boss or brother and took a few unstable steps forward. Holding out her zanpakuto, she opened a Senkaimon Gate. With just a brash glance back at her fallen comrades, she stepped into the portal.

-.-.-.-

When she exited, she was standing in a grassy field just outside the real Karakura Town. A monstrous reiatsu shook her core and rattled everything within sight. Olivia took in a deep breath and charged forward; mind concentrated not on running but on the feint pulse she got from the center of Karakura Town. It was Gin's and there were several around it, including Rangiku's. Olivia was glad she was there with him.

It didn't take her but moments to reach the destroyed heart of the human city; her home. A group of children from Kurosaki Ichigo's school were there, a Shinigami and a man she recognized from the television. Past them all, she made out the wavy, strawberry blond locks of her old friend and a glimpse of familiar silver hair. Rushing past them, she fell to the ground at Gin's side and gasped.

-.-.-.-

Gin wasn't entirely sure what was happening anymore. He had lost all feeling in his body and he was surprised that his mind was still functioning though he supposed the wound Aizen had bestowed upon him was meant for a slow death. Whether it was so he could relish it or because Aizen had known that Rangiku was still alive, the Shinigami wasn't sure.

He knew that Rangiku was beside him, he could see the tears streaming from her eyes. It sent a wave of guilt he knew he didn't need through his numb body. Words poured form his mouth, though he did not know what. They only seemed to make Rangiku cry more. She replied and so would he in this conversation he couldn't make out. He prayed he was saying the right thing.

The town shook softly when another reiatsu appeared not far off. Gin's eyes widened and he noticed a similar expression on Rangiku's face. It didn't make sense to him, why after all these years she had shown up but he was happy she was here now.

Just a bit later she was at his side. He saw her gasp and cover her face with her hands. Like Rangiku, tears began to slip from Olivia's eyes and slide down her cheeks. If only he had the strength, he'd take them both in his arms and wipe away the tears.

Looking from face to face, Gin noticed that through the tears Olivia was smiling. It was probably meant to comfort him. Her cold hand cupped his cheek and she leaned in close to him. He couldn't make out her words but he expected them to be positive. Gin forced the muscles in his face to react, a small smile spreading across his features. He hadn't imagined that his reaction to seeing Olivia again would be to smile and die silently.

Gin could feel the life leaving him as the darkness began to creep into the edge of his vision. Soon, it would take away the two people he had ever cared for in its consuming rage. Warmth flooded him and then he could no longer see.

**X.X.X.**

Gin felt his muscles tense instinctively upon awakening. For certain he thought he was dead, but apparently that was not the case, unless death involved the all too familiar Fourth Squad Barracks, a comforting warmth on your lower abdomen and a soft snoring from the same area.

He doubted that.

Still, he found himself too weak to move. His body ached and protested against even his consciousness. With every movement, every breath and every heartbeat his body burned with a new level of searing pain. It was a struggle to keep the air flowing in and out of his lungs in even breaths with out them coming out shaky or ragged.

Gin lay there on that bed for several hours after awakening, too tired to sleep and to bothered by the images that plagued him to let his eyes close for more then a brief second. He could recall it clearly. His battle with Ichigo, going to the Real Karakura town and everything that followed except for that brief moment when his life teetered on the edge of death. That memory was a blur.

He could remember shouting and crying, lots of crying. For who, he didn't know. He wasn't even sure if that memory was real. Everyone, he supposed, but not for him. He was sure even Aizen would have someone cry at his death, most likely the Hinamori girl who had called herself his Vice-Captain.

Or at least, he'd thought no one would until he saw Rangiku appear over him. He'd never welcomed such large breasts in his life. There was a hazy recollection of a conversation with her, and with that came an ease in his heart but there was more. After Rangiku came another, another female with a thin, if not lanky body and eyes so dull they balanced out the shocking appearance of his. He recognized her, as if from another life. It was Olivia; he knew that as clearly as he knew the sun to rise every morning. Like with Rangiku, he couldn't remember their conversation but it had put hope into his heart.

He supposed now that whatever she had said then worked, for he was still here. Else, it didn't and she had wished death upon him. He doubted that –even after his sins –as much as he doubted that this was the afterlife.

From the lower region of his abdomen he felt movement as the warmth faded. A flood of coldness replaced it and with the vision he could muster without moving, he saw someone rise groggily from his body. They didn't seem to notice that he was awake, so he kept quiet.

She raised an arm to her face and rubbed the heel of her hand against her eye, yawning while she did so. With a swift shake of her head, she tousled short aqua locks back into place before looking about the room as if she had forgotten where she was. Gin noticed she had remembered where she was when her body jolted and she was suddenly bending over him with a frantic look in her eye.

Olivia blinked once, twice, three times before she scooped his aching body into hers with a squeal and a large grin on her face. Moments later, before Gin could protest, she lowered him gently back into the bed and faced him with a calm countenance.

Now, she lowered herself beside him until her lips were at his ear and she whispered,

"_Hello, Gin-Kun."_

* * *

__**A/N: **I don't own Bleach.

This is, kinda, revised. It wasn't very popular the first time, but here it is again. There wasn't much to edit and it's not old enough to rewrite so. Here.


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